Harriet Klausner's Review Archive


Recent Reviews
All Reviews By Author: 0 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
All Reviews By Title: 0 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Search Reviews

THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES
Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Warner, Jun 2002, $25.95, 466 pp.
ISBN: 0446530220
In lower Manhattan, the construction crew is excavating the site so that a high rise could be built. As the team digs deeper, they uncover something macabre. The location once held a nineteenth century CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, but the "time capsule" legacy left behind for the present to discover is dozens of skeletal remains of obvious victims of a serial killer. The media learns about the 1880s homicides and enflames a public feeding frenzy.

However, someone goes further than just shock. Abominable copycat murders occur, sending the locals into panic. FBI Special Agent Pendergast, New York Times reporter William Smithback Jr., and New York Museum of Natural History employee Nora Kelly join forces to search for the modern day culprit. The evidence points towards the same person who committed the gruesome crimes over a century ago still operating today as it appears a nineteenth century scientist may have unleashed Frankenstein's monster while unlocking the puzzle of immortality.

Instead of seeming like old relics, the return of characters from previous novels enhances the latest Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child horror thriller. The story line is exciting, as the action never slows down and readers will feel the Son of Sam grip on the city. The good guys are strong and resolute though they face a formidable opponent. However, the key to why THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES is worth reading is the villain who seems so genuine in spite of the aura of immortality surrounding him. This is another thunderous triumph for this awesome author duo.

Harriet Klausner


Search the archive.
Return to the main page.